Computer Support Blog

Technical skills have become an essential aspect of what makes job candidates desirable and what makes employees valuable.  While skills are teachable and hardly the only metric by which a company should measure employees, it is always important for companies to track what immediate value a person has for them.  Cool person in technology Mike Kowalchik founded his startup Smarterer to give companies a method to measure both employees’ and job applicants’ skillsets.  Smarterer creates and provides enterprises with tests that they can use to measure people’s aptitudes in different fields and subject material.  For example, Smarterer tests can be about website coding, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, mobile app development or any other skillset.  Read more »

Not every business has the means to make an official website for online appointment booking.  Many small businesses focused around a specific community, such as small doctor’s offices, dentists, recreation centers, martial arts dojos, and hair salons, don’t find it economical to invest in a website when they have all the clientele they can handle come to them locally.  Still, with the growing emphasis on Internet-connected mobile devices and people more dependent on their technology than ever before, a web presence is becoming necessary even for these smaller establishments.  Enter Latiss, a cool product that gives community businesses a place on the web and the ability for customers to book online appointments.  Rather than create an expensive website when a company doesn’t have the extra cash or time, businesses using Latiss can still give customers the convenience of booking appointments and checking information online with little extra investment or risk.  Even business owners that truly have no experience with computers can use Latiss with only a little help from a PC tech support service.  Read more »

Accounting is one of the least engaging aspects of running a business, but without good accounting, any company will fall apart.  Computer technology has been a key tool of accounting for a long time, and now with cloud computing taking over the business world, a cool product that marries accounting with the cloud is helping people run their businesses.  Cloud-based services have exploded on the tech startup scene due to their appeal to consumers.  Cloud computer support services are easier to reach.  Cloud-based software is more convenient since it’s accessible from everywhere.  Cloud storage is beneficial since it doesn’t depend on a piece of hardware that needs multiple backups.  So, in theory, why wouldn’t cloud accounting also be a more convenient, easier solution for many small businesses keeping track of their finances?  The folks at Intacct believe that accounting software based in the cloud is part of the answer for small business and that is why they offer this cool product. Read more »

Outplacement for employees after layoffs is never easy for anyone.  It means a period of frustrating uncertainty for the unlucky worker and potential public relations or legal problems for an employer if handled poorly.  The difficulty surrounding the state of the U.S. job market only exacerbates this situation.  Whether someone works in the office computer repair, healthcare, sales or anything else, the difficulty of finding new jobs can seem insurmountable.  Fortunately, cool person in technology Sanjay Sathe doesn’t believe that it has to be that way and he has created a product that helps both companies performing layoffs and laid-off employees during the outplacement process. Read more »

Dealing taxes and tax law compliance is a nightmare and a headache for small businesses everywhere.  Every state and county has different sales tax regulations.  It can become even more complicated when one starts to consider issues such as tax-exempt customers.  Just as companies hire business IT support services to help with complicated computer issues, they also have to hire special consultants to deal with sales tax compliance quite often.  Cool person in technology Scott McFarlane believes that there is a better way to handle sales tax compliance when running a small business.  He founded Avalara to help companies who sell products nationally to handle tax issues without headaches or unnecessary difficulties. Read more »

Busywork is one of the biggest time wasting activities for office workers everywhere.  Mindless data entry and repetitive tasks kill office morale, overall productivity and in general are a major drain on the workplace.  Processing invoices is one such tedious task that no one looks forward to doing at any small business that provides a service to its customers.  For most people, this sort of work is a necessary evil that they put up with only because that have to, given the situation. Read more »

Local businesses that use social media have a common problem: targeting local customers who are more likely to use their services.  Even if a restaurant, shop, or local service company such as a plumber or electrician uses Facebook, they often receive friends and followers that cannot convert into customers due to geographic location. Targeted advertising through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus can help to deal with this problem, but it is not a permanent solution.  Cool product UMeTime wants to offer local businesses the permanent solution that they need to target people most likely to become long time customers through social media advertising.

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Small business owners who don’t have the technical knowledge or the right connections can have a lot of trouble setting up an online store for web-based clientele.  Cool product Volusion provides a complete e-commerce solution for businesses covering every aspect of the process.  Volusion distinguishes itself from its competitors by including every aspect of e-commerce for small business rather than focus on one particular point of it.  Other services provide help with an online POS system, social media marketing, or order processing.  However, these services usually come from separate companies, making the process less convenient and fractured for already-stressed business owners.  Volusion differentiates itself by offering solutions for all of these things in one complete package.  The company wants to be a one-stop solution of sorts and give small businesses one experience for all of their e-commerce dealings.  In theory, this sort of all-in-one solution could reduce the need for business IT support services.  However, in practice, that may not be the case, as people may need tech support to help them learn the ropes of Volusion’s software. Read more »

Startups and small businesses, especially ones that are growing or scaling quickly, have no room for wasted time or productivity as they establish themselves in a marketplace.  However, there is always a need for more staff as projects grow and scale increases within a company.  Hiring more staff becomes doubly problematic when a company is trying to hire a significant number of people.  This is due to the fact that the HR department of a company needs to grow before they can accommodate more intake for other departments.  This process hampers growth at an essential time for many businesses.  Read more »

Static and bad sound quality commonly plague conference calls.  However, group calls themselves are often essential for efficient communication within a company.  Cool person in technology Stephane Giraudie has set out to fix this problem by creating Voxeet.  Giraudie claims Voxeet offers a better solution for business owners than standard conference calling due to the high quality experience that the product offers.  On the company’s website, Giraudie states that users will find a much higher quality of sound when using Voxeet.  Also on the website, Giraudie’s company cites “3D immersive sound” and HD audio technology to remove unwanted static from group calls as key factors in Voxeet’s user experience.  If Giraudie’s product live up to his claims, business owners could avoid miscommunication from misheard calls due to bad sound quality. It’s easy to imagine that most owners and managers would greatly appreciate higher quality audio in their group calls. Voxeet runs as computer software rather than a product you integrate with your phone, much like consumer-focused conferencing products such as Skype and Google Hangouts.  That means businesses will need access to good PC tech support if they have technical issues with the product. Read more »